Zina Kocharyan, mother of Soghomon Kocharyan, who has already served 20 years of a life sentence in Armenia’s prisons, has told Hetq that her son’s medical condition is grave and he should be immediately taken to the “Prisoners’ Hospital” for examination.

Mrs. Kocharyan has told Hetq that she is calling on the Minster of Justice and the Chief Warden of the Nubarashen Penitentiary to transfer her son to the penal hospital.

“At least once in these past twenty years take him and examine him to see what’s going on, to at least save his life,” she told Hetq.

Mrs. Kocharyan says that she can hardly hear her son’s voice when he calls every ten days and that, despite the fact that the medical staff at Nubarashen Penitentiary are very attentive to the needs of Soghomon, she believes his worsening condition warrants professional medical monitoring.   

“There’s Soghomon’s military pension which I use to purchase all the basic he needs. But his health is deteriorating, from the war, his 20 years behind bars, the death of his wife, and the suicide of his daughter. I know he can’t even sleep lying down. He sometimes sleeps in a seated position because the pain is less. He can only digest milk and dairy products. I bring him these items. His stomach, intestines, lungs, heart and nerves are all shot,” Mrs. Kocharyan says.

Soghomon Kocharyan, who was given a death sentence in 1995, which was later replaced by life imprisonment, is registered as a Artsakh War vet with a second class disability.